Kathleen Ann Merrigan (born October 6, 1959) is an American politician who served as the
United States Deputy Secretary of Agriculture
The United States deputy secretary of agriculture is the second-highest-ranking official in the United States Department of Agriculture, appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate. The deputy secretary becomes acting secre ...
from April 8, 2009,
until her resignation from this position on March 14, 2013.
She was the first woman to chair the Ministerial Conference of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations in 2011. She was the former Executive Director of the Sustainability Collaborative at the
George Washington University
, mottoeng = "God is Our Trust"
, established =
, type = Private federally chartered research university
, academic_affiliations =
, endowment = $2.8 billion (2022)
, preside ...
. At GW she also led the GW Food Institute and was a Professor of Public Policy.
She was named one of the "100 most influential people in the world" by ''Time'' magazine in 2010.
Career
She worked at
Tufts University
Tufts University is a private research university on the border of Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1852 as Tufts College by Christian universalists who sought to provide a nonsectarian institution of higher learning. ...
as Director of the Agriculture, Food and Environment Program at the
Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy.
She assisted in writing the 1990 Organic Foods Production Act while a professional staff member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry. Senator
Patrick Leahy
Patrick Joseph Leahy (; born March 31, 1940) is an American politician and attorney who is the senior United States senator from Vermont and serves as the president pro tempore of the United States Senate. A member of the Democratic Party, ...
, who chaired the committee, introduced the Act and ensured it became law as part of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation and Trade Act of 1990. Senator Leahy said of Ms. Merrigan, "
ertireless efforts and patience led to comprehensive legislation that creates a first-ever national organic certification program and revamps important agricultural research programs."
[Congressional Record Vol. 136, No. 104, Friday August 3, 1990]
In 1999, she began her career at the USDA by heading the
Agricultural Marketing Service
The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture; it maintains programs in five commodity areas: cotton and tobacco; dairy; fruit and vegetable; livestock and seed; and poultry. These programs ...
. At the USDA Merrigan created, led, and managed the "Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food" initiative. This initiative strengthened USDA programs in order to support local food systems around the country. Merrigan helped develop USDA's organic labeling rules while head of the Agricultural Marketing Service from 1999 to 2001.
Education
She has a PhD in environmental planning from
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...
,
a Master of Public Affairs from the
University of Texas
The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...
, and a B.A. from
Williams College
Williams College is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams, a col ...
.
Boards and committees
Merrigan serves on a number of boards and committees including: AGree, the Harvard Pilgrim Healthy Food Fund Advisory Committee, Board Director for the
Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture and
FoodCorps
FoodCorps is an American non-profit organization whose mission is to work with communities to "connect kids to healthy food in school." FoodCorps places service members in limited-resource communities where they spend a year working with teachers ...
, Senior Advisor at the Kendall Foundation, the Council of Environmental Deans and Directors of the
National Council for Science and the Environment
The National Council for Science and the Environment (NCSE) is a U.S.-based nonpartisan, non-profit organization which has a mission to improve the scientific basis of environmental
A biophysical environment is a biotic and abiotic surrounding ...
and the
United Nations Environment Programme
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is responsible for coordinating responses to environmental issues within the United Nations system. It was established by Maurice Strong, its first director, after the United Nations Conference on th ...
led initiative TEEB for Agriculture & Food.
References
External links
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1959 births
George Washington University faculty
Living people
Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs alumni
Massachusetts Democrats
Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni
Obama administration personnel
Politicians from Pittsfield, Massachusetts
Tufts University faculty
United States Deputy Secretaries of Agriculture
Williams College alumni
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